PHILADELPHIA, Pa., June 20, 2019 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Philly Games Inc. announces its first location of Queen & Rook Game Cafe will be near the corner of 2nd and South Streets, at the site of the former Hikaru restaurant. Philadelphia’s newest player in is getting ready to make its first move with a late Summer opening. They promise a game library of more than 1,000 new and vintage board games, a retail section, easy to share plates, local drafts and a full liquor license.

Edward Garcia, a founder and the CEO said, “With more than a thousand game options and Gamekeepers to tailor the experience to your group, the fun is almost guaranteed. Philadelphia needs more options for family-friendly entertainment. It needs more options for get-togethers and dates that don’t involve just eating or drinking.” Queen & Rook Game Cafe will do all those things. They will offer a place for families to have children’s parties and meals where the kids aren’t begging for a smartphone.

Except for special events, kids under 12 will not be charged the playing fee. Queen & Rook will also make sure to offer kid’s meals and several non-alcoholic cocktails and drinks. At the same time Queen and Rook will also offer a new and different kind of date place or hang out spot, nostalgic and yet new. Queen and Rook will also have a reservable private room for team building, corporate events, parties, community meetings or gaming groups.

In terms of food, Queen & Rook Game Cafe will offer a healthier, more future-oriented, mainly plant-based menu. They will serve the small plates and appetizers people love to snack like nachos, mozzarella sticks, and french fries; but will also offer vegan sliders, a vegan cheese plate, deluxe salads, and many gluten-free options.

Jeannie Wong, a founder and a vegetarian for more than 25 years said, “The future is happening now with meat alternatives and healthier, less environmentally damaging food and drink. We think people want something really delicious without having to feel bad about what or where they eat. It’s about a commitment to have plant-based options, local sourcing, allergen-friendly foods, globally-inspired offerings, and foods with a smaller carbon footprint.”

Queen & Rook Game Cafe will be open 7 days a week from 11am to Midnight Sunday through Thursday, and 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday. Weekend brunch plans are in the works as well, plus a few surprises in the fall.

In this series you’ll find deep dives into specific games and game pieces, discover the difference between Vietnamese and Turkish coffee, wax nostalgic about the games you played as a child and learn about some classics you may have missed. One of our aims at Queen and Rook is to connect generations across the gaming table with classic RPG’s and board games as well as introduce you to your new favorites, fostering friendly competition outside the digital realm. This series will give you a preview to who we are and what we care about as we get ready to open later this summer.

With our first successful pop up last week we happily announce the next two pop ups around the first days of Winter!

On the 21st and 22nd we will once again be at Cherry Street Pier with lots of Board games and Quizzo. We will bring holiday themed board games like The Christmas Story Board Game, Home alone and It’s a Wonderful life as well as Game of Throne Board Games, because you know winter is coming.

We will make sure to bring other Board games too for the 21st in the evening from 6 to 9pm as well as on Saturday from 1 to 5pm.

Join us, the weather outside won’t be frightful and our games will be so delightful. It is a space open to the weather though so be sure to bundle up!

Queen & Rook Game Cafe is very excited to host our first pop up at Cherry Street Pier in Philadelphia on December 7th from 6 – 10pm! We’ll have a lot of HP themed games including: Battle at Hogwarts, Fantastic Beasts Perilous Pursuit, Harry Potter Code Names and lots of out-of-print games like Mystery at Hogwarts and the Chamber of Secrets Trivia Game. We will have team prizes for Quizzo too — so come have a great time with some Potter fans!

You won’t have to disapparate to get food — Hardena/Waroeng Surabaya and Cooperage will both be open at Cherry Street Pier until 10pm so you can get delicious food and warming drinks while you play. Be sure to bundle up! Directions Here

The PAX Unplugged Board Game Convention last weekend very much felt like sprinting our way through a marathon. We heard the attendance was over 30,000 individuals and 50,000 entrances. We definitely felt those numbers on Saturday. We got to meet so many kind, amazing and giving people that stopped to talk or play a few rounds. We collected over 350 emails, went through 800 business cards, gave out 300 peanut chews, 100 granola bars and 700 jolly ranchers, and went through 2 bags of Ricola.

At the Anomia Press booth, I don’t know how many games of Anomia, Anomia kids, Anomia X and Duple we played, but we always had a raucous group around us. Thank you to everyone who come by the Anomia booth to learn about the cafe, play a demo and talk for a bit, the board game community really felt like a community at PAX Unplugged. Thank you to Andrew, the creator of Anomia, for having us in the Anomia Press booth. Thank you to the dedicated staff that helped to demo and explain all about Queen & Rook Game Cafe. Thank you also to the supportive game designers and game publishers, we all had so many great conversations about future collaborations and received a lot of Demo copies from generous reps.

Our first convention is on the books, and we are on to our first pop-ups this week! The next 12 months will be a year of firsts and we will tell you all about them.

If you don’t know what a game cafe or a board game cafe is, here’s a great article about them in the Atlantic (so fancy!). Even though it’s from 2014, it gives you a good idea of what we’re about. Queen & Rook Game Cafe will be fun for all ages with lots of yummy treats and drinks while you play. Our selection of games will always offer you something new and exciting. We’ll even have private event spaces for celebrations, kids’ parties, and your weekly role-playing adventures. Check out the article and sign up for our mailing list!

Our Fall has been super busy at Queen & Rook Game Cafe. We are finalizing our location and getting our hundreds of board games, card games, and roleplaying games ready for you to play. We are also working on our menu of allergen-friendly, mostly plant-based recipes so they will be super delicious. Look out more news in the upcoming weeks. We’ll be posting about the games in our library, asking for feedback on the menu, and keeping you up to date on our progress before we open.